What's 'recommerce' and is it sustainable?

Your guide to the slow fashion and resale market

Breaking down the jargon

Secondhand. Resale. Preloved. We're all familiar with some of these phrases as secondhand shopping has firmly entered the mainstream. No longer is thrift shopping stigmatised or seen as unhygienic or low-value. Recommerce - also known as reverse commerce - is simply the selling of previously owned products, new or used. This initially was commonly associated with the selling of electronics, but this has swiftly evolved into the selling of luxury goods.

And it's clear that the luxury fashion recommerce market is not going anywhere. Driven in large part by the shopping behaviours of Gen-Z and Millennials, the global resale market is estimated to be currently worth $28 billion. It is predicted that the secondhand fashion market will be worth approximately $65 billion in the next five years, whereas first-hand fashion retail is expected to shrink by 4%.

All in all, it seems that slow fashion and sustainable commerce is here to stay with 73% of millennials saying that they would prefer to purchase from sustainable brands. The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the trend of consumers wanting more budget-friendly and sustainable alternatives to fast fashion. Not only conscious of the fact that the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, but with the availability of high-quality, good condition luxury products available to purchase of the original cost, savvy consumers know that their money goes further with a smaller cost to the environment than shopping brand new items directly.

Why we love recommerce

There are plenty of upsides to shopping secondhand. Here's just a few reasons why we love resale:

• It's good for the planet: Recommerce gives a second lease of life to items that would otherwise end up in landfills. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, one garbage truck of textiles is sent to a landfill or incinerated every second. We believe that an items is not waste until it's wasted. It's estimated that the majority of textile waste that is produced globally, approximately 95% of it can be recycled or reused.
• It's good for your pocket: The resale market offers products at a discounted price.
• It's inclusive: Recommerce helps to increase the accessibility of luxury goods that consumers might otherwise be priced out of.
• Update your style sustainably: Recommerce also provides a sustainable solution to allow consumers to update their wardrobes effortlessly without throwing things away. Consumers can sell these items knowing that these pieces will find a new lease of life in someone else's wardrobe. In turn, this money can be used to find a new, one-of-a-kind preloved piece to add to your wardrobe.

Is recommerce sustainable?

As with all types of consumption, there can still be some downsides to it, including:

• Outpricing low-income consumers: Thrifting has the potential to take away from low-income consumers who shop at charity stores because they have no alternative. Consumers who pilfer stores to flip in-demand items or purchase larger sized garments to alter or deconstruct the item into smaller garments makes it more challenging for other consumers to find size-inclusive, affordable clothing.
• Too much of a good thing: Charities have a big problem of receiving unusable textiles that often they need to spend money on to repair or dispose of the material. It's estimated that 25% of such textiles go straight to landfill. It is therefore important to reach the charities guidelines on donating textiles and donate to garment-specific charities or local women's shelters.